110 people rescued from capsized boat near Australia

By the CNN Wire Staff

Updated 3:25 AM ET, Fri June 22, 2012

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Australia's asylum seeker debate – An Australia-bound Iraqi family arrives at an Indonesian marine police station in Surabaya in East Java province on July 29, 2012. They were among a group of 66 Iraqi and Iranian asylum seekers who were rescued from a stricken boat by the Indonesian navy.

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Australia's asylum seeker debate – Over the weekend, Australian authorities intercepted six boats in the waters north east of Australia carrying 265 people. All occupants will be checked by doctors before being transferred to Christmas Island for processing, officials said.

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Asylum boat – This boat carrying 150 suspected asylum seekers was spotted by Australian authorities prior to its sinking on June 27.

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Australia's asylum seeker debate – Rescued suspected asylum seekers arrive at Christmas Island, south of Indonesia, on June 22, 2012, after their boat capsized spilling everyone on board into the water.

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Australia's asylum seeker debate – The boat was carrying about 200 people and Australian authorities believe all the passengers were male.

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Australia's asylum seeker debate – So far, rescuers have saved 110 people from the ship, authorities say. Survivors have been transfered to Christmas Island.

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Australia's asylum seeker debate – In addition to Australian relief efforts, Indonesia has sent two warships to assist the rescue.

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Australia's asylum seeker debate – Australian Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said that one 13-year-old boy was among those rescued. All the rest were adults.

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Australia's asylum seeker debate – Mujtaba Ahmadi was just 15 years old when he left his family in Iran to flee to Australia. He spent months in detention centers on Christmas Island and Darwin before settling in Sydney.

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Story highlights

The ship overturns midway between Australia and Indonesia

Vessels are on the scene in hope of rescuing survivors

One of those rescued was a 13-year-old boy

All the other passengers were adults

Rescuers have saved 110 people from a ship that capsized in the waters between Australia and Indonesia and are searching for the many missing, an Australian official said Friday.

The boat, that was carrying about 200 people, flipped over Thursday, authorities said, triggering the massive rescue effort.

A 13-year-old boy was one of the many rescued, Australia Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The others that were rescued were all adults, Clare said. Authorities believe all the passengers in the ship were male, according to Clare.

The survivors were being transported to Christmas Island.

"Over the course of 36 hours from the time the boat capsized, my advice is that people can survive out there if they've got either life jackets or they are able to hold onto debris, as a lot of people did through the course of yesterday," Clare said. "So the window is still there where we hold out the prospect of finding more people alive."

On Thursday, authorities said the vessel was 110 nautical miles northwest of Christmas Island. Indonesia has sent two warships to assist Australian rescue efforts.

And Clare said four more ships would be in the area Friday to help the ships and aircraft that are already searching.

Christmas Island has been the scene of another recent boat capsizing.

At least 28 people died in December 2010 when a boat carrying asylum seekers crashed into cliffs near the coast of the island.

Most of the people on the boat were from Iran and Iraq, a rescue worker said at the time.